The Villa Times - 17/12/2008

Vital Villa asked in our last poll, If MON decides to shop 'locally' which striker should we go for in Jan? Looks like the majority want to see Villa take the gamble on Newcastle and former England striker Michael Owen who got 55% of the vote. 18% went for Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn and 8% opted for Jermain Defoe who was available last January from Spurs (and subsequently moved to Portsmouth who now appear to need to balance the books somewhat. Full results Michael Owen Tops The Vital Villans Wish List!

Today's press gossip links Villa with a three way battle for West Ham striker Dean Ashton with Everton, Man City and Tottenham Hotspur and also has a report linking us to Newcastle midfielder Charles N'Zogbia. Full gossip: Aston Villa's Wednesday Press Transfer Talk

An updated list of our top scorers so far this season with Gabby heading the list with 9 PL goals. Full list: Click Here

Former Spurs and current Hamburg manager Martin Jol has tipped Villa to push Arsenal out of the top four. Always liked him, what a wise wise man! Click Here

A small quote in The Mirror, as pointed out in our forum (Click here for thread) by thirtyone has MON saying he wouldn't report other managers, despite the Barry saga over the summer, for tapping up players: 'I wouldn't want to be hypocritical. We've all tapped up players.' LOL. Nice to see a bit of honesty!

Just to keep me happy, press the link and play the video, you know you want to, it is Dom Jolly Celebrating. This is my version of busking as I need the pennies in this hard hit recessionary times, otherwise how will I be able to afford my next Tag Heuer watch? Spare a dime mister?!! If you don't forward this on to at least 10 000 people in the next 2 seconds your hair will fall out: Dom Jolly Gets That Winning Feeling!

Vital Villan: Speaking on the official site Brad Guzan praised what Brad Friedel has achieved during his tenure in the Premiership and admits he was one of his heroes whilst he was growing up, so being able to train alongside him and learn from him is almost like a dream come true. 'I grew up admiring Brad - he was definitely one of my heroes. 'What he has done in his tenure in the Premier League is unbelievable. And his new consecutive appearance record is phenomenal. 'Growing up as a young American goalkeeper and watching him in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, which was a phenomenal competition for the USA, was an incredible feeling. He was very welcoming in helping me adapt to a new club, a new city and a new style of football.' Full quotes: Guzan On Hero Brad

Vital Villan: Martin O'Neill has stated categorically that Ashley Young is not for sale after newspaper reports suggested Real Madrid would be tabling an offer in January. A national newspaper, which should tell you everything, has said that Juande Ramos is preparing to submit an offer in the region of £27 million to take Young to Real. Putting the rumours to bed, O'Neill said simply: 'I don't know anything about it but he's certainly not for sale.'

Just a reminder that matche v FC Hamburg will be shown live at the Holte Pub this week, as will West Ham at the weekend.

Thought for the day: You have to remember all the trivia that your girlfriend tells you because eventually you get tested. She'll go: 'What's my favourite flower?' And you murmur to yourself: 'Sh*t, I wasn't listening ...Self-raising?'